This vegan hot cocoa recipe is rich and creamy. You can spike it with your favorite booze or drink it as-is.
I love treating myself to a decadent vegan hot cocoa on a chilly evening!
I’ve been tinkering with my vegan hot cocoa recipe, because I wanted something to spike with the mint rum I made last week, but you can also drink your cocoa straight up, without booze. If spending half the week waiting for mint rum to infuse is not on your timeline, you can also use light or dark rum, whiskey, or white whiskey to spike your cocoa. If you’re making this for a party (recommended!), I’d suggest setting out a few of these options with written directions, and let your guests pick their poison.
A lot of folks are surprised to learn that vegans can even eat chocolate. While a lot of commercial chocolate – read: Hershey’s – is not vegan, good quality dark chocolate is totally vegan. Chocolate comes from the cocoa plant, and your basic dark chocolate only has three ingredients:
- cocoa powder – solids from the cocoa plant
- cocoa butter – fat from the cocoa plant
- sugar
The reason commercial brands add milk and butterfat to their chocolate is to make up for the fact that their product contains so little (or no!) actual chocolate. Cocoa butter is a lot more expensive than butterfat or milk fat, so they use these cheap, animal-based fillers instead of the real deal.
When it comes to cocoa, though, that whole argument is kind of moot, since you’re just using the cocoa powder – no cocoa butter at all. All you need to do is substitute non-dairy milk for the cow’s milk in any cocoa recipe, and you’re good to go. If you want really decadent, rich, creamy hot cocoa, though, you need some extra fat, and that’s where I have a favorite trick: use coconut milk!
I used to make this recipe with more coconut milk, but it was too rich for me. My updated vegan hot cocoa recipe uses some full fat coconut milk plus soy or almond milk for a better balance of fat and flavor. There is still a coconut taste, so if coconut isn’t your thing, I’d suggest using all soy or almond milk. The cocoa won’t be as rich, but it won’t taste of coconut. You could also use vegan creamer in place of the coconut milk, if that’s your speed.
I also use brown sugar in my recipe instead of white sugar, because I like what the molasses from the brown sugar adds to the flavor mix. If molasses isn’t your thing, just go for regular white sugar.
So many options! The basic recipe is below – adjust however you like to suit your tastes!
Vegan Hot Cocoa
Yield: 4 cups; about 6-8 servings, depending on your mug size
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 15 ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups soy or almond milk
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla glycerite
- 1 ounce mint rum or light or spiced rum, whiskey, or white whiskey (optional – This amount is per mug, not for the whole batch. Leaving the booze on the side means you can decide whether to spike, mug-by-mug.)
Method
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, whisk cocoa powder and coconut milk together until the powder is mostly dissolved. It won’t dissolve completely at this point, so don’t worry if there are small lumps in there.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, except the booze. Heat on medium-low, whisking constantly, until the cocoa powder is totally dissolved and the cocoa is heated through
- Serve immediately. Pour whichever booze you’re using (if any) into the bottom of a mug, then top off with cocoa. If you’re not planning to serve right away, turn off the heat, and just turn the stove on to heat it back up when you’re ready to dish out a mug or two.
Ginger Wroot
Wow, this looks like a lovely and tasty holiday “cocktail”…can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing a great idea for these cold months!
Tanya
We are sailing down the Intracoastal Waterway in NC drinking this amazing hot cocoa. Thank you for posting it!!
Becky Striepe
That sounds delightful. Cheers, Tanya!
Melissa K..
Have you ever tried homemade cashew milk? I buy organic cashews, soak, and blend. It can be thick, like cream, or thinner like milk depending on the ratio of nuts to water. In a Vitamix, I don’t even strain it. It is my milk of choice, and I intend to try it with this cocoa recipe! The perfect creamy mouthfeel and very mild taste are the best!
Becky Striepe
I have! Love cashew milk. It’s so creamy. Cashew cream might work well, but I wonder whether it would separate. Let me know how you like it with cashew milk- that sounds amazing!
Andrea
I make hot chocolate with almond milk, but I’ve never tried it with coconut milk — that must be so delicious! I like my chocolate to be as dark as possible. I never liked chocolate until I discovered bittersweet.
Becky Striepe
It definitely adds a lot of richness. I hope you enjoy it!
Jes
Hot cocoa is such a must for me! Love the little bit of cinnamon in your recipe–I’m going to have to try that soon as I normally go spiceless.
Becky Striepe
I kind of want to experiment with adding a little cayenne, too, to make a full-on Mexican hot chocolate! Since this batch was for company, I stayed on the safe side, but if it goes well, I’ll share that recipe, too!
Cadry's Kitchen
Like you said, I’ve found that with good quality dark chocolate, I’m satisfied with just a square or two because the flavor is so bold. Before I went vegan, I thought dark chocolate was bitter, but now I love the deep richness of taste.
Your hot cocoa sounds amazing! Definitely the perfect winter indulgence!
Becky Striepe
Isn’t it weird how your palate changes? Mine has changed a lot too since going vegan! And thank you! I can’t wait to make more!
An Unrefined Vegan
Oh yum! I also treat myself often to homemade hot chocolate, though have never made it with coconut milk. That has GOT to be good!
Becky, I’ve passed along a Healthy Fun Food Blogger award to you: https://anunrefinedvegan.com/2012/12/12/gettinggiving/ No obligation, just wanted to say that I enjoy what you do!
Becky Striepe
Thank you so much! I am so touched!